hi all, i was wondering if any of you good folks had a recipe for mango chutney. i was hoping to make some paninis with chicken and the chutney, but i can't manage to locate any pre-made. and in any case, its probably better homemade. i do have a jar of red onion relish with balsamic and black pepper, i thought it might be a good base to add to, other than being decent on its own.

Im not an expert with chutneys and conserves - but i know that mango chutney is commonly made using dried mangoes as a base with a variety of spices etc added - like chillies, lime juice and maybe some cloves...
Prepare like a jam but with extra lime juice for that lovely tangyness/tanginess (however u want to spell it.. )
..

I'd think it would be better to start a new one, because chutneys require long and slow cooking anyway (about an hour). But they are not that complicated to make. Most important is to dice everything very finely. I'd start with 2/3 mangoes (fresh ones) and 1/3 onions. Add some apples as well if you don't want your chutney too mango-y. Some recipes suggest red peppers and raisins as well. For spices I'd add some ground fresh ginger and some mustard (the famous english powdered mustard is nice and hot, but normal mustard is ok as well), quite a lot of brown sugar to deepen the flavors, and some chili peppers or cayenne. Then of course some (malt e.g.) vinegar and salt to taste, eventually some allspice and a bit of garlic, too, and turmeric for a vibrant color.
The good news is that chutneys are quite forgiving, in the end you can always add more spices if you're not yet satisfied with the flavor, it's all about sweet-sour-spicy balances.

Hm, as these are more general directions than a real recipe, I'll try and find one in the books as soon as I find some more time. As far as I remember there is a nice chutneys website out there somewhere, which I might find again, too

And, BTW, in case you're still in Scotland and in case there happens to be one near you: there is a refreshingly tasty tomato relish at Sainsbury's which is fantastic especially with cheese sandwiches (... first item I use to buy whenever I arrive at the island, along with some cheddar ... ), and that yellow stuff called Piccalilly is interesting as well, there are tinily diced veggies in there you'd never think of (= quite non-recognizable), cauliflower e.g.

birgit (or anybody else), do you know if it would be possible to freeze the chutney instead of canning it? i don't have anything against canning, but its definitely not the most practical thing to do at uni! if i was at home i would more than likely can it though. was thinking of halving or even thirding (is that a word?) the recipe to make it work for just me.

Freezing might work, never tried this, but: don't feel discouraged by complicated canning rites, no one of my family ever made any fuss about these, it always worked fine this way:

As soon as the chutney is nearly finished, clean jars and their metal lids in water as hot as possible -- or take them directly out of a dishwasher. (I use to collect small ones, they're easier to keep and transport. They need to be opened by screwing, not with any tools, so that the lid mechanism keeps intact).

Place them on a moderately wet towel (this prevents the glass from breaking, I even don't dry them completely), then carefully ladle the hot chutney into the still quite hot jars, leave about 1 cm space. Clean the upper glas ring carefully with a piece of clean cloth in case there are any leftovers from pouring the chutney, and dry the lid with another clean piece of cloth before screwing the lid tightly. Touch the glass ring and the lid as less as possible -- it's too hot anyway, but if you're working fast, the jar still quite touchable. Leave jars on the towel until cold (you might as well transfer the jars into the fridge as soon as they are about lukewarm). Some time later you might hear a gentle "plop" -- this is the middle part of the lid indicating that the content is sealed safely now.

If you didn't here any "plop" and if the lid can be opened easily this only means that you should keep the jar in the fridge from then on, like any other already opened jar of jam or chutney.

PS: While cooking jam or chutney it is helpful to wrap a towel around you arm, the more viscous the chutney gets the more likely it will "spit". And in case outside the weather is hot, wait until it gets dark, so you won't have to fight with the wasps, they "sense" fresh jams and chutneys and they like it very much, too ... But generally: don't worry, I've even improvised jam on a small camping stove once (we'd collected more wild raspberries than we could eat, and there still were those little sugar sachets we'd got with our mugs of coffee ...), it was delicious for breakfast the next morning

PS: And in case outside the weather is hot, wait until it gets dark, so you won't have to fight with the wasps, they "sense" fresh jams and chutneys and they like it very much, too ...

not to mention that making jam in the middle of the summer is stifling. This past summer i made a couple of cases up, cherry preserves, blueberry (the overall fave), and peach. Did i mention the AC wasn't working right when i made the peach so i nearly died of the heat?

A trick my step-mom taught me about sealing is that after you fill them and screw the lids on, turn them upside down on a towel and let them sit for a good 5-10 min. then just turn them right-side up and let them cool. worked on about 12 jars! and saved me lots of time too. like you, i used the dishwasher to sterilize. the joys of technology!

its more a matter of not having the space to store the jars and having of one of my flat mates come wondering in and going "she's really lost it now" their idea of dinner consists of pb&j or spaghetti and pesto for a week straight [/quote]

SUCCESS!! my improv recipe worked very well. blended the recipes you listed with a couple off the Food Network website. didn't measure a thing, just did the rough proportions similar to your first post Birgit. added a smallish apple, fresh lemon juice and some garlic, skipped the curry powder, and left the ginger in bigger pieces so i could fish it out. Enjoying it right now with a couple of toasted tortillas and some cheddar, which is sounding a little odd, but its not a bad combo!

I too have decided that chutney is a great idea, and I've been reading about some peach chutneys that sound nice- I want to make a big batch though. Overripe fruit is cheaper at my market, but most of the recipies that I've seen call for green or underripe fruit. Any idea on why that might be, or if there's a way around that? Also, has anyone heard of a good papaya chutney?

Overripe fruit is cheaper at my market, but most of the recipies that I've seen call for green or underripe fruit. Any idea on why that might be, or if there's a way around that? Also, has anyone heard of a good papaya chutney?

Some of the recipes i looked at called for green mangos, but i used riper ones. Its just a matter of adding less sugar, as the fruit is going to be sweeter when its ripe, and watching it while it cooks to make sure the chutney doesn't burn or that the fruit breaks down more than you want it to. i think that the real thing that separates a chutney from a jam is that other ingredients, like spices and onions or some such, are added. and jams are made with ripe or overripe fruit. if you cook the rest of the ingredients a bit first to get them all soft then add your ripe fruit, it should all cook at the same rate and give you the desired consistancy.

As for what to serve it with, if you want it as a snack, you could definitely go with soft naan (indian/pakistani) bread or something crispier to scoop up the chutney with. chutney is great on sandwiches, either hot or cold. i bet if you like tofu, you could grill or saute some (tofu, that is) and then serve the chutney on top as a semi-sauce. or part of a warm salad, i'd imagine it'd probably be good on some wilted spinach since it goes pretty well with other fruit.

abobora, as to the very ripe batch of peaches and papayas -- what about something similar to sweet/spicy plum sauce? For chutneys I'd second woodstocker's thought that ripe fruit might be better for jams, so I'd think more in the direction of sauces/ketchups, etc. -- or fruit coulis to pour over icecream, yum ...

Combine all the ingredients, in a heavy pot. Add 1 cup of water and bring to boiling. Lower the heat
to medium and cook the chutney, stirring freqently.
Cook until the chutney thickens enough to mound in a spoon. If necessary, extra water if needed.
The onions should be soft and translucent.
Taste the chutney and adjust the sweet/sour with more sugar or vinegar. Remember spices
intensify while the chutney ages.
Process as desired. I use the hot seal method, ladling the hot chutney into the sterilized jars and
fitting them with two piece lids.